Toy theatre for puppets or marionettes



Sept. 20, 1955 E. J. scHRocK 2,718,091

TOY THEATRE FOR PUPPETS OR MARIONETTES Filed S'pt. 19, 1952 2Sheets-Sheet 1 n1 Pa 1 L I I 1 2| 1| l2 l4 INVENTOR. FIG. 2 ELLA J.SCHROCK ORNEY Sept. 20, 1955 E. J. SCHROCK TOY THEATRE FOR PUPPETS ORMARIONETTES Filed Sept. 19, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. ELLA J.SCHROCK BY FIG. 6

ATTORNEY United States Patent TOY THEATRE FOR PUPPETS-'0R'MA=RIONETTES'Ella J. Schrock, Bedford, Ohio Application'september 19,195'2,-Serial'No. 310,450

6.Claims. (Cl. 46-4-13) This invention pertains=to a'toy theatre orstage for use either as a stage for a puppet/shower as astage for amarionette show.

It is an object'of my invention to provide a toystage which, withsubstantially no werk,-can be-changed from a puppet stage to amarionettestage, and vice-versa.

A further object of my invention is to provide, as a single unit, adevice adaptablefor use either'as a puppet era marionette stage,particularly for the use-of children or on television.

Another object of my invention is to provide the stage and completescenery necessary for a child to produce, by puppets or-marionettes, acompleteshow such as Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, etc.

A further object of my invention .is to provide a very inexpensivetoyforchildren'which may, in one position, be used as apuppet stage and, thysimply turning the device around, may be used as a marionette stage.

For a better understanding -of the present invention, together withother and further "objects thereof, reference is had to the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and itsscope will be pointed out -in the-appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front view of the device of the invention showing it beingused as a stage for a puppet show;

Fig. 2 shows scenery connected to the stage of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 shows the device of Fig. 1, in reversed position being used for amarionette show;

Fig. 4 is a plan view, on a reduced scale, showing the device of Figs. 1to 3 as it is manufactured;

Fig. 5 is a top view of the device shown in Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a top view showing the device folded for packmg.

With reference to the drawings, there is shown in Fig. 1 a View of thedevice of this invention being used as a puppet stage. As erected, thestage comprises a front portion It) having two integrally connected sideportions 11, 12 folded diagonally back with respect to the front portionand integrally joining, respectively, the lower portions of the twowings 13, 14. The upper portions of the two wings 13, 14 are integrallyconnected, respectively, to rearwardly extending side walls 15, 16, andthe back wall 17 is integrally secured to the rearwardly extending sidewalls 15, 16.

The back wall 17 is above and well to the rear of the rent portion 10thereby providing a relatively large space in which an operators handmay be positioned to operate the puppet 20.

The puppet appears in front of the back wall 17 and the operators handis hidden from the audience by the front portion 10.

Supports 21, 22, such as slotted blocks of wood are connected to thelower outside corners of the two wings 13, 14 to help maintain the stagein its upright position.

Fig. 2 shows the stage of Fig. 1 provided with scenery 25. The scenerymay be made of a single sheet of printed paper and may be provided withfoldable tabs '26 to 'hold the scenery to the stage.

2,718,091 PatentedSept. 20, 1955 ice Other means of course may be usedto secure the scenery to the stage, and it is within the scope of thisinvention toprint the scenery directly onto the face of thefstagev .An.advantage in having the scenery readily removable .is that a number ofdifferent scenes can be used with thesame stage. Thus a .completeplaycould be .sold fora few do1lars,thekit including, for example, alloftheequipment necessary'for a child to give the play Cinderella. The.several characters, and sufiicient replaceable scenery .would beincluded with the stage to giveall .the scenes of the completeplay.

When the .stage .isto;be used for marionettes instead of puppets, thedevice is simply turned'aroundtothe position s'hown inFig. .3. Thebackwalll17 now is forward of'the front portion 10 .and' hides thestrings 30used to actuate the marionettes 31, and the Ifioor on which the devicerestsbecomes the'fioor of the stage. .Scenery may be provided aspreviously described.

.An important advantage of the combined marionette and puppet stageofthe invention is 'its simplicity ofrmanufacture. The device can bestamped out of cardboard :by a single operation and, in one or twosubsequent operations, the material can be scored .for folding. Thestage and its scenery are shipped in a flat condition so that there isno .danger .of damage, and small children can readily fold the.stageinto proper shape for erection and can attach ithescenery .toeither of the faces off'the stage, depending upon whether a puppet ora-marionette show. istobe given.

'lnthe ;event'large.marionettes are .to be used, it would beconvenient'to provide the stagewith one .orrnore doors .through whichthe marionettes 'and their actuating stringsmay enter. onto the stage.'The door50 maybe hinged at51 and suitable .latch means 52 may'berprovided to keep the door shut during the performance.

Fig.4 shows, on a reduced scale, the stage .asproduced. It comprises aflat oblong'body of cardboard or other material sufficiently rigid tostand erect on one edge. The fiat oblong body has a slot 40 extendingparallel to the long edges 41, 42 of the oblong body, and the slot 40 ispositioned closer to the edge 41 than to the edge 42. This is so thatthe depth of the back wall 17 is less than the depth of the frontportion 10 when the stage is erected for use as shown in Figs. 1 to 3.The length of the slot 40 is substantially less than the length of theoblong body and the slot is centered so that there are two substantiallyequal lengths of unslotted material at either end of the slot 40 whichform the two wing sections 13, 14 of the stage.

As shown in Fig. 4 the cardboard body is scored to facilitate folding itin the proper directions. Two first fold lines 43, 44 extend completelytransversely across the cardboard at the location of the ends of theslot 40. Two second fold lines 45, 46 extend transversely across thecardboard body parallel to the fold lines 43, 44 and positioned slightlyinward from the ends of the slot 40. it is desirable that the cardboardbe scored to facilitate folding in two directions. The dotted lines inFig. 4 represent the fold lines in one direction and the dash linesrepresent the fold lines in the opposite direction. Thus the bottomsections A of the first fold lines 43, 44 are dotted, showing that theyare scored on one face of the cardboard sheet, while the top sections Bof these lines are dashed showing that they are scored for folding inthe opposite direction. The second fold lines 45, 46 are divided at thecut line 40, the portion A to one side of the out line being adapted forfolding in the same direction as the portions A of fold lines 43, 44,and the portions B being adapted to be folded in the same direction asthe portions B of lines 43, 44.

While there have been described what are at present "considered to bethe preferred embodiments of this invention, it will be obvious to thoseskilled in the art that various changes-and modifications may be madetherein .without departing from the invention, and it is, therefore,'airnedin theappended claims to cover allsuch changes and modificationsas fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. What isclaimed is:

1. A toy theatre for use either as a stage for a puppet show or as astage for a marionette show, comprising a long edges than the other, thelength of said slot being less'than the length of said body, said bodyhaving two first fold lines extending transversely across itrespectively at the two ends of said slot, and having two second foldlines extending transversely across it respectively parallel to saidfirst two fold lines and positioned inward of said two first fold linesforming an upper and a lower centrally located wall section, said upperand lower wall sections being parallel to each other, and upon thetheatre being used for a puppet show the lower of the two sections beinglocated closer to the audience and upon the theatre being used for amarionette show the upper of the two sections being located closer tothe audience.

2. A toy theatre as set forth in claim 1, further characterized by eachof said two first fold lines comprising a portion to one side of theslot folded in one direction and a portion on the other side of saidslot folded in the opposite direction, and by each of said two secondfold lines comprising a portion to one side of said slot folded in onedirection and a portion on the other side of said slot folded in theopposite direction.

3. A toy theatre as set forth in claim 2, further characterized by theadjacent parallel fold lines facilitating folding the body in oppositedirections.

4. A toy theatre for use either as a stage for a puppet show or as astage for a man'onette show, comprising a flat oblong body of cardboardhaving straight top and bottom edges and sufliciently rigid to standerect on either top or bottom edge and having a horizontal slot throughit extending in a direction parallel to the long edges of said body at alocation nearer one of said long edges than the other, the length of theslot being less than the length of said body; said body being scored forfolding along two first fold lines extending transversely across it atthe two ends of said horizontal slot, and being scored for folding alongtwo second fold lines extending transversely across it parallel to saidfirst two fold lines and positioned inward of said two first fold linesforming an upper and a lower centrally located wall section, said upperand lower wall sections being parallel to each other, and upon thetheatre being used for a puppet show the lower of the two sections beinglocated closer to the audience and upon the theatre being used for amarionette show the upper of the two sections being located closer tothe audience.

5. A toy theatre as set forth in claim 4, further characterized by saidbody of cardboard being scored on one side to form part of each of saidtwo first fold lines and being scored on the opposite side to form theremainder of each of said two first fold lines, and furthercharacterized by said body of cardboard being scored on one side to formpart of each of said two second fold lines and scored on the oppositeside to form the remainder of each of said two second fold lines.

6. A toy theatre as set forth in claim 5, further characterized by theadjacent parallel fold lines facilitating folding the cardboard body inopposite directions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS969,831 Alsop Sept. 13, 1910 1,419,976 Mathews June 20, 1922 1,499,891Storer July 1, 1924 1,638,177 Viscount Aug. 9, 1927 2,272,404 FirestoneFeb. 10, 1942

